LAHORE: On Tuesday, a division bench of the Lahore High Court overturned a single bench’s ruling and reinstated Lt Gen Muhammad Munir Afsar as the chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra).
The division bench, consisting of Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal and Justice Ahmad Nadeem Arshad, issued the interim stay order on an intra-court appeal filed by the federal government. The bench also issued a notice to Ashba Kamran, the citizen who had challenged the appointment before the single bench.
An additional attorney general represented the federal government before the division bench, arguing for the reversal of the single bench’s decision. The law officer contended that the government had the authority to amend rules under Section 44 of the Nadra Ordinance, 2000, including the appointment procedures. He asserted that the appointment was made under Rule-7A of the Nadra (Appointment and Emoluments of Chairman and Members) Rules, 2020, which did not require a public advertisement or competitive recruitment process.
The division bench found that the single bench had overlooked key facts and legal provisions in its original ruling. After reinstating Lt Gen Afsar’s appointment, the bench adjourned the appeal hearing for a future date to be scheduled by the registrar’s office.
Previously, on September 6, Justice Asim Hafeez had declared Lt Gen Afsar’s appointment unlawful. Justice Hafeez’s judgment criticized the appointment for bypassing the constitutional mandate for competitive and qualification-based evaluations, asserting that such direct appointments without proper qualifications amounted to an abuse of authority. The judge had dismissed the government’s justification that data leakage and national security concerns necessitated the appointment of a serving army officer.
The petition challenging the appointment was initially filed against the caretaker setup’s decision on October 2, 2023, and the subsequent retention of the appointment by the elected government on March 28, 2024.
